Card Blast: Mage Knight
by MikauKaiousei
Summary: A child of the ancient Centran nation finds himself in a land of monsters. How does he escape? A decade later, he returns to the site of this adventure, to erase the shadows of his past. Entry II in the Guardian Force Series.


**Card Blast: Mage Knight**

_A FFVIII Fanfiction_

Brought to you by MikauKaiousei

There was a wall.

It was twice his height, and made of solid red brick. He'd wanted to climb it _forever,_ but he hadn't been strong enough.

Now he was.

This was his eighth birthday, and Ashe Zegure was going to conquer that wall.

He ran up to it, and examined it carefully. He quickly found a brick that stuck out far enough to stand on – he'd gone through this process many times.

He clambered up, getting halfway up the wall by memory. He knew that there was a brick just above his head, but it was only barely enough to stand on and he couldn't lift himself that far up.

But now he was tall enough to reach the brick over to his right. He carefully lifted his foot and placed it there, transferring his weight slowly. He eventually pushed himself completely up, bringing him farther than he'd ever climbed before.

He could now touch the top of the wall, which was capped with mortar. He looked down, and decided that even if he fell, he'd be okay.

He reached as high as he could, getting his fingertips onto the very top of the wall, and jumped. He pushed his arms forward, catching himself. He was now hanging off of the wall, the top caught between his arms and body.

It was simple to force his legs up over the wall, and he quickly sat astride the wall. He looked out over it, savoring the view.

The other side of the wall was a field of flowers, currently in bloom. The plains where his family lived were often barren and boring, but every once in awhile a field like this grew. They were called beauty patches.

Ashe had no idea why this one was walled off, especially since it was the most beautiful meadow he'd ever seen. He pushed off the wall, careless of how he'd get back up.

He hit the ground in a roll, not even getting a bruise. He jumped up, brushing off his clothes. He thought he heard his mother's voice for a moment, but when he stopped to listen, there was only the wind.

He ran around for a minute, enjoying the feeling of being over the wall. He stopped and picked a flower from the ground; it was a glorious red and purple bloom, with tiny white leaves surrounding the blossom.

He inhaled its scent, a musky aroma that made him shiver with delight. He breathed it in again, greatly enjoying the tingles that ran across his skin.

When he finally pulled his face from the enormous bloom, something strange happened. The flower began to wilt, the beautiful colors becoming dull and gray. The stem in his fist crumbled, and the head of the flower fluttered away from him, dissolving in the wind.

"Wait! No!" he cried, completely ineffectual. He stared as the flower's remains hovered in the breeze, until they were completely gone.

He felt a low rumble in the earth. He turned around, looking for its source.

Unfortunately, he found it.

A huge beast lumbered toward him. It was massive, with yellow and green scaly skin. It had no discernible head, but seemed to know exactly where he was anyway. It headed straight for him, loping on all fours.

Ashe backed up, then turned to run. He quickly reached the wall, and looked desperately for a way to climb back up.

He had found one handhold when an enormous fist crashed into the wall next to him. He shrieked, and darted away from it. A second fist embedded itself into the wall where he had been.

The monster didn't seem too bright. It roared, rocking back and forth to free itself from the wall. Ashe was transfixed, paralyzed with fear. All he could do was watch the monster.

All too quickly, the beast had freed itself and was making its way toward him again. It jumped forward, and when it hit the ground, a white shockwave shot out from its feet and knocked Ashe over.

Able only to shiver with fear, Ashe watched as the beast loomed over him. He closed his eyes.

_don't kill me_

_it's over_

For some reason, the scent of the flower floated through his mind. He relaxed minutely, then passed out.

The Wendigo regarded its prey. It was one of the softies. It hadn't seen one in years, since the Thing In The Way had appeared. Softies used to be its favorite food, and it hadn't forgotten their taste. It reached back, preparing to kill the softy with one blow.

A red and gold aura blazed around the limp child. His eyes snapped open, and his hand reached up, palm facing the Wendigo.

A blue point of light appeared in the child's palm, spreading out. In its wake, it left a patch of blue skin. The light quickly died, leaving a many-pointed star stained on the child's hand. From that discolored skin, another point of blue light emerged. This time, the light flew from the palm, expanding into a hollow rectangle of light.

The Wendigo stared, unsure. Softies had never been able to fight like this before.

The blue rectangle spun slowly in the air, before vanishing. The Wendigo saw only a blue blur before an incredible pressure from all sides assaulted it.

It roared again, muscles flexing as it tried to fight the enormous pressure, but the battle was hopeless.

There was another flash of blue light, and the Wendigo was no more.

Ashe slowly awoke. He was lying in the field of flowers. He sat up slowly.

Was he dead? Was this Heaven?

A glint caught his eye. He looked down, and saw a small card on the ground. He picked it up.

When he saw the image on the card, he shrieked again and dropped it. It was the beast that had tried to kill him!

He slowly picked up the card again, reason overcoming panic. A card couldn't hurt him. Could it?

It was amazingly lifelike. He could practically see it moving. As he held the card, words appeared on it.

They drifted across the image, lasting only a few seconds. He stared, trying to understand them. They weren't in characters he recognized, but they seemed to convey their meaning well enough.

_Steel Orb_

_Wendigo_

_Powerful Blow_

The word stopped appearing, though he looked carefully for at least a minute longer, hoping to catch more. He grew bored, though, and stood all the way up, putting the card in his pocket.

He quickly found the wall, and the place where he had been standing. The massive holes the creature had bashed in the wall were still there, although Ashe was sure he remembered them being bigger. Well, it didn't really matter.

He put his feet in those holes, using them as footholds. He was surprised at how thick the wall was. He didn't remember it being more than a foot thick.

He searched for a place to place his next step, but could not find a single protruding brick. He jumped down from the holes. They were excellent footholds, but if there was nowhere to go, they were useless.

He searched down the wall, looking for a place to climb. Unlike the other side, this one was smooth and unblemished, aside from the site of the monster's attack. He could not find a single place to climb.

He quickly became discouraged. He absolutely refused to cry, but he was tired and hungry and wanted to go home.

He pulled the card out, and looked at it. The image of the monster wasn't quite as frightening anymore.

He gave up the battle, and let the tears drip out of his eyes. Sobs rose in his throat, and he put his head down.

A tear dripped down his cheek, onto his chin, and fell. It landed on the card.

Heat began to emanate from the card, and it glowed brightly. Ashe jumped, letting go of the card.

It rose into the air, shining brightly. It began revolving, faster and faster. Ashe's palms began to burn, as if the heat from the card had stuck to his hands.

Red light blazed around him, and he was lifted into the air. His arms and legs began moving on their own, tracing odd patterns that eventually ended in him spreading his limbs as far as they could go.

The card flashed brightly, then exploded in a shower of sparks. The creature trapped within it emerged, even bigger than before. Fear swamped Ashe, but it didn't seem to notice him.

Instead, it turned on the wall. It charged, lumbering on all fours. It built some impressive speed very quickly. When it reached the wall, it jumped, somersaulting through the air.

When it hit the wall, it stuck, and began to glow brightly. The glow dimmed, and then the entire creature exploded. The shockwave passed harmlessly through Ashe, but the flowers it traveled through were turned to dust.

The wall fared no better. The explosion ripped it apart, leaving a way for Ashe to get through.

The strange force holding him up vanished, dropping him to the ground. He ran toward the opening.

It was a good thing he ran. As he cleared the hole, jumping through as fast as he could, a brick struck him in the knee. He fell to the ground, rolling over in agony.

He looked up at the wall, and stopped crying immediately. Bricks were flying through the air and rebuilding themselves. Clouds of dust swirled around smaller holes, reforming the places that had been vaporized.

Ashe got to his feet, turned, and ran, pain in his knee forgotten.

_Ten years later…_

The wall was still there. It was still taller than him, and still as intimidating. Especially now that he knew the secret.

The black-cloaked figure regarded the Moon Wall with contempt. It had been erected by the elders of the Centran Nation. It encircled an area where a Lunar Cry had happened, and powerful spells had been woven into its structure to keep the monsters within it. Many of these circular barriers decorated the Plains.

That foolish adventure in his youth had not weakened the spells much, since monsters within the wall were quite capable of such blasts.

But the fact that a human had attacked the Wall had apparently done something to its stability. Monsters had been escaping, one by one. They were often caught, but no one could be sure that they were all destroyed. The effect had begun spreading , and there were far too many Moon Walls to patrol with regularity, especially with the decline of the Centran Nation.

A soft growl reached his ears. He spun around, stretching his right hand out to his side. His cape flowed behind him as he faced into the wind, revealing a powerfully built, black-armored body. Small silver boxes decorated each of his wrists, with slits on their bottom sides.

A Grendel had been trying to sneak up on him. He smiled, a tiny smile full of malice.

The beast, its need for secrecy ended, roared loudly. It reared onto its hind legs, preparing an attack. Lightning glimmered around its muzzle.

Ashe flicked his right wrist. The box on his wrist spat out a card. He glanced at it, noting its suit and rank, then flicked his wrist again. The card flew toward the beast with unnatural speed.

It struck the Grendel's chest, and stuck, somehow piercing into the hard scales.

Ashe lowered his hand. "Five of Clubs," he said. His eyes glowed with blue light.

The card mimicked their glow, then exploded in a maelstrom of energy. It swirled around the Grendel, slicing easily through the monster's skin. The monster howled, the energy it had been gathering released harmlessly into the sky.

The card flew out of the blast area, returning to the box on Ashe's left wrist. He drew his sword, a long, curved silver blade with a hilt shaped like a spade.

He aimed the blade at the beast, which was still shuddering from his attack. "Card," he said softly.

Blue light blazed in his hands, racing down the blade. It flew through the air, becoming a series of rectangles that began to dance around the Grendel. They revolved together, becoming a cube that contained the beast.

Ashe swung his sword and leapt, driving the point down into the cube. There was a blue flash.

When the light faded, Ashe's sword was driven into the ground, and a card floated in the air before him. He plucked it from its hover, and glanced at it. He could now read the powers hidden within cards with ease, having mastered his unique talent.

Years of study had brought him face to face with many different abilities. Some were inborn, like his own. Others could be taught, and he had picked up a few of the most useful of this kind. The third kind of ability was very difficult to pin down. These tended to drift from person to person, using them as hosts to strengthen themselves. They were typically the most powerful. Inborn abilities were called "Limits", taught abilities were called "Commands", and the other kind had many names. The most common was "Guardian", since they were most often summoning-type powers. People who hosted these Guardians often developed Limits and were much better at learning Commands.

The card was nothing special, just a low-rank monster. It was a one-shot card, meaning he could use it for one special attack, then it would disintegrate. If he wanted to expend a lot of energy, he could turn it into an item, but he doubted he'd get anything useful from it.

He loaded it into his right-hand dispenser. Those were his greatest possessions. His sword was useful, yes, but mostly as a magnifier of his Limit. He could only 'Card' enemies by himself when he was in gravest danger. The sword was a gift from his teacher, and allowed him to access his ability much more freely. The card dispensers were his main weapons. He had crafted a full deck of cards with magical properties. They were reusable, though they needed recharging time. Each of the four suits had a different effect. Hearts were healing cards, and Spades caused heavy physical damage. Clubs invoked elemental attacks, and Diamonds erected protective barriers around him. The dispenser on his left hand was designed to recharge these cards.

He turned back toward the Moon Wall. It was unraveling dramatically, now. Any damage it took no longer self-healed, and monsters were escaping more and more frequently. The Moon wasn't close enough to the Earth for a major Lunar Cry yet, but it was only a matter of time. And he had a hunch that these Moon Walls really weren't helping.

The only thing the Walls really did well any more was _confuse _monsters. When they escaped, they were always disoriented for a few days. Of course, they rarely attacked humans during this time, so the village guards wouldn't encounter them until they had regained their sanity.

Ashe was almost positive that, if the Moon Wall was destroyed completely, all the monsters within it would be struck with this affliction. He knew that he wouldn't be able to destroy them all, but village guards had gotten very good at fighting off the beasts, and he'd take out a large number of them before being overcome. And he was equally sure that monsters were spawning within these walls, and would eventually be able to escape _en masse_, without someone there to destroy them.

He was willing to sacrifice himself to insure against a massive invasion in the future. It wasn't like he had anything to live for, anyway.

He aimed his right hand at the Wall. A card discharged into his hand. He flicked it into the brickwork, where it stuck as easily as in the Grendel's hide.

He examined it, until he was satisfied that it was firmly placed. He walked back to the site of the short battle and removed his sword from the ground. It glittered, and was instantly clean. He sheathed it.

He walked around the circumference of the Wall, counting his steps. When he reached the site of his original card, he made another circuit around the Wall, this time placing cards at equal intervals. When he returned to the first card again, he walked back a few paces, then turned to face the Wall once more. He drew and raised his sword, holding it at shoulder height and pointing it at the Wall.

A red and gold aura blazed around him as he drew upon his Limit power. "Card Blast!" he cried, slicing the air with his sword.

Each card placed in the wall glowed with bright red light, then activated. The Spades exploded, vaporizing the sections of the wall closest to them and blasting huge chunks out of the rest. The Club cards erupted in storms of various elements, destroying chunks of the wall just as effectively.

When the attack finished, Ashe stood before a pile of rubble. Twenty-six cards floated in a circle above the pile. Ashe sheathed his sword, and held out his left hand. The cards flew back to him, loading themselves into his dispenser.

There was still a great deal of dust floating in the air, but Ashe could make out an enormous mound of…something. As the dust cleared, he saw what it was.

Monsters.

Multitudes of bodies piled on top of each other, making a mountain at least a hundred feet tall. It was smaller than he had expected, but still far larger than he had any hope of destroying alone.

Well, he hadn't had hope to start.

He unsheathed his sword again. The hilt glowed brightly, and runes began to glow along the blade as Ashe focused his energy. He moved his sword, almost ceremonially, into a defensive stance. He closed his eyes, focusing.

Then he charged.

The monsters were indeed stunned by the destruction of the wall and their abrupt change of dimension. Space inside the wall wasn't the same as space outside, and the hundreds, if not thousands of bodies were forced into a much smaller area than was truly possible. Many monsters had indeed been destroyed by this change of space, but many multitudes remained.

But this confusion wasn't as hard to shake as it was when monsters escaped of their own will. The very shock of the release was doing its part to clear the heads of the vicious beasts, and the top layer was beginning to stir.

Ashe reached the pile before any could react, and carved his way into it. Each beast his blade touched was converted into blue energy. The energy slid down the blade, pouring into the hilt. As he killed more monsters, the energy flew from the sword into his dispensers. It greatly hastened the recharge rate of his used cards, and once his left dispenser was empty, his right one began discharging cards on its own.

The pile sagged as its inner support was removed. Rays of light shot out of it when cards activated, releasing mighty energies. The pile fell into itself.

Then, with a mighty roar, an explosion consumed the entire heap. It didn't die down for at least a minute. Yellow flares of energy danced across the plains for a great distance around the massive dome of power.

It slowly shrank, dying away. It revealed Ashe, leaning on his sword.

There were no monsters to be seen.

He had done it.

His vision slowly cleared. When he saw the lack of infernal creatures around him, he began to breathe more easily. He discharged one more card, this one a Heart. He tossed it into the air, and murmured a word.

The card dissolved into red light, which swirled around him. It couldn't do much to restore his lost energy, but it healed the bruises and scrapes on his skin. When he was physically whole, the energy coalesced into a card, which loaded itself into his left dispenser.

He stood up straighter, and sheathed his sword. He allowed himself a moment to savor his victory.

Then, a bolt of lightning struck him, throwing him fifty feet across the blasted plain.

He hit the ground face first, groaning. He rolled over, holding his sword before him, though he had little hope of deflecting any attacks.

His vision cleared, and he saw what had attacked him. A magnificent yellow and green bird floated above him. The closer he looked, the harder it was to pick out particular details; the whole being seemed fluid, and was incredibly streamlined.

_Ashe Zegure_

The voiced echoed in his head.

"What?" he asked, his voice raspy from disuse.

_You have destroyed the Moon Wall_

"Yeah, you're right," he growled.

_The Wall was all that held the monsters at bay_

"I destroyed the monsters. Or didn't you notice?"

_My spirit was the power of the Wall. Your attacks freed me_

"You're welcome," he muttered.

_I was trapped inside the Wall for too long. I must join myself to a human_

Ashe narrowed his eyes. "You must be a Guardian," he rasped.

The bird nodded. _You are right. I am a Guardian Force._

"Well, you're not going to feed off of me," Ashe said. "I've studied you. I know how you affect people, and I know how to protect myself."

_I know this. I could not junction myself to you even if you wished it_

"What?" Ashe was startled. "Why not?"

_You used too much energy in destroying this monster nest. Look at yourself_

Ashe looked down. He seemed normal enough.

_Not there. Over _here

The bird flew in a tight arc, flying in the direction from which it had attacked Ashe. His gaze followed it –

– and saw a body lying on the ground.

"No!" he shouted, but he knew the truth.

"You _killed _me!" he cried, jumping to his feet. He swung his sword into a ready position and charged.

The bird floated serenely in the air. When Ashe was close enough to attack, it seemed to shrug.

Lightning flowed out of its head, striking all around Ashe. A blast of wind and electricity blew him off of his feet.

_You do not understand. I saved you. You would have died, and all your power would have been wasted. I gave you life eternal, though bound to eternal service_

"You made me a _Guardian!_" Ashe screamed. He felt new energy brimming in him. He threw his sword away, and discharged a card. Without even looking, he activated it and aimed it at the bird.

The card exploded into white sparks, and a Grendel appeared. It roared, and a white vortex of energy spiraled from its muzzle to the bird. The mighty Guardian was thrown through the air, to land violently on the ground. The Grendel vanished.

_Your power is greater than mine. But you cannot escape your fate_

A shadow appeared on the ground. It grew rapidly, and Ashe looked up to see what it was.

A massive dragon dived from the skies. It spread its wings as it neared the ground, braking quickly to land. The back-blast of its wings should have knocked Ashe on his back, but seemed to merely blow through him.

_Bahamut_

The mighty dragon looked at Ashe, disdain in its reptilian eyes.

"So this is the newest member of our order?" it asked, speaking through its mouth.

_Yes, he is. He sacrificed himself to destroy a monster nest_

"And he must have great power, to have been given this option," Bahamut added.

_I helped him. He would probably have become a Force anyway, but I made sure of it_

"You interfered, Quezacotl?" the dragon asked, its voice much more like a roar. Its wings flapped furiously. "Who gave you the authority?"

_I felt it necessary. Our numbers have been thinned by the humans and their Walls_

Bahamut quieted. "This is true." It looked at Ashe. "He will require teaching, being so new."

"I'm _not _a Guardian!" Ashe repeated.

"Why are you so against it?" Bahamut asked, almost kindly. "You have been given immense power, and immortality. You must junction yourself to a living creature to affect this dimension, but that is a small price to pay."

"I don't _want _eternal life! I just want to rejoin my family!"

Bahamut shook his head. "You knew you would die when you destroyed the Wall."

"My family died five years ago when the Revolution ended," Ashe said flatly.

"Oh, you wanted to rejoin them?" Bahamut laughed. "Don't you know where the spirits of the dead go?"

Ashe glared at the dragon. "I don't care. I was going to be with my family, no matter where they are."

"Well, you're not wrong." Bahamut spread its wings. "Come with me. In time, you may be able to find the spirits of your family. But you must be taught."

Ashe shook his head. "I'm going nowhere."

_You have no choice_

Ashe looked at Quezacotl. "There's always a choice," he said.

_If you do not come with Bahamut and I, you will either have to Junction or fade away. The only minds strong enough to hold you nearby are monsters. If you Junction to a monster, you'll either be killed and die the final death, or kill many, many humans_

Ashe shook his head.

"Ashe, you can always leave us," Bahamut said, again sounding almost kind. "We do not confine any to our life, such as it is. But you would be a powerful addition to our ranks."

Ashe sighed.

"Fine. I'll go with you. But only for a little while."

Bahamut nodded. "That's all I ask."

_Five hundred years later…_

Squall crested the rise in the Centra Plains. This is where it had been spotted, right?

"We're about fifty meters from where the reports describe," Quistis said, showing her uncanny knowledge of his psyche.

"This had better be a damn good GF," Zell muttered.

"Quiet. I don't want to anger it," Squall said. "We're going to need as many powerful GFs as we can get. None of ours respond to anyone else anymore, and we can't send SeeDs out with first-tier GFs."

Quistis nodded her agreement, fondling her whip.

The three of them walked into the plain. There was a strange color to the soil. It was more yellow than the rest of the plain, which was a uniform, boring gray.

Heat flared in Squall's pocket. He came to a stop, reaching into his pocket to see what was burning so. At the same time, Zell shouted and started jumping around and Quistis shed her backpack like it was some hideous insect, groaning in pain.

Squall's fingers closed around a thin rectangular object. The heat cut straight through his fingers. He pulled it out and tossed it away.

He saw it was one of his old cards when he tossed it. Quistis's bag exploded as a flurry of cards cut through the fabric, flying into the air. Zell managed to rid himself of his own deck, which was larger than both Quistis's and Squall's.

The cards flew in a circle around the three of them. One after another, they dropped to the ground, tracing a perfect circle around them. A couple flew off into the distance.

When a full set of cards surrounded them, Squall felt the GFs Junctioned in his mind stir. Quezacotl and Bahamut, specifically.

GFs didn't often communicate with him, and he'd only once gotten a verbal message from one, but he was clearly receiving surprise and shock from those two.

A light appeared before him, slowly coalescing into a black-clad form. It held an old-style katana, and had very antique looking armor. Its face was hidden by a veil across its helmet.

"_You invade my territory,_" it said. Its voice was hollow and booming, much like the Brothers.

"We want your help," Squall said.

"_My help? For what?_"

"We want you to help us fight necessary battles." Squall looked for the right words. He had a feeling this was a _very _powerful Guardian Force, and did _not _want to anger it. "We only have – aah!"

Power rushed through him as he Summoned a GF. The only problem was that he didn't _want _to Summon anything. His vision went black, and he lost feeling in his body. He quickly regained his senses, but only sight and hearing. His smell, touch, and taste senses were gone, replaced by an awareness of power and air currents. He was sharing the body of Quezacotl, who could only exist physically by borrowing the body of its owner – Squall.

_Ashe! This man is a worthy bearer! _Squall 'said'. Except Quezacotl was saying it.

"_I am no longer Ashe. I am only the Mage Knight,_" the GF said.

_Whatever you choose as your name, ally yourself to this man!_

"_If you come so recommended by the Spirit of Thunder, I will join you,_" the Mage Child said. "_But I will not be drawn by your bearer, Quezacotl._" He turned, and looked straight at Zell, who gulped, and lifted his hands.

Squall lost consciousness for a brief moment, then returned in his own body. He saw the GF flare into bright blue light, which flew into Zell's body. Zell collapsed as the GF flooded his body with its power, before it settled into his brain. Drawing a GF by choice often overwhelmed the senses, but a GF forcibly Junctioning itself was far worse.

When Zell's twitching calmed, Squall helped him up silently. "Is it powerful?" he asked.

Zell closed his eyes. His wrists shimmered, and two silver boxes appeared on them. He opened his eyes, and nodded.

"Definitely."

The card circle stopped glowing. A gust of wind blew the cards every which direction. Squall put his hand to his forehead.

"I got 'em," Zell said. He raised his hands. His eyes shone with blue light, and the boxes on his wrists glowed for a moment.

The cards froze in the air, then rushed toward Zell. They slid into the box on his left hand more quickly than Squall would have imagined possible. Zell's eyes returned to normal when the last card had vanished from sight.

"Wow. This is one powerful GF," he said.

"Why cards?" Quistis asked. "It looked like it was a physical fighter."

Zell shook his head. "It seems to use cards to attack. I can't really understand it right now; we'll have to try it in battle."

Squall lifted his head. "Well, don't get too fond of it. We're going to have to transfer it to another SeeD. You're stuck with Pandemona and Ifrit, since they won't let themselves be Junctioned elsewhere. You can't hog this GF, too."

Zell shook his head. "I don't know if that'll be an option…"

Squall sighed. "Well, let's go back to Garden. The Ragnarok's this way."

He set off in the direction from which they had come. When he crested the rise, he saw the mighty airship Ragnarok. Its scarlet, draconian form shone in the sunlight.

He felt another tendril of surprise, this one from the Tonberry King. But the feeling vanished very quickly.

The three of them boarded their airship and flew back to Garden.


End file.
